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aruanWoke up with Giddy Up in my head. Uh, sure.
Speaking of music, there's a song called, ostensibly, You Promised Me. I'd never heard it before coming to California, haven't since heard it since, but for those five days, it came on the radio every.single.time we turned it on in Schiz's car. Which wasn't that often, given that we listened to CDs on the entire Vegas drive, made it through Tony's CD twice, and mostly listened through the pop stash of Schiz's car. But if we turned on the radio, to any given station, we were guaranteed to hear the song, because I didn't like it but would need it by the end of the trip and, infuriatingly, I wouldn't be able to hear or get it once back home.
Mmmchickenandwaffles. Which is to say, Schiz took me for breakfast to Roscoe's, where we met up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
embitca and had a time of it discussing politics, fandom highs and lows, what keeps us here despite the madness, and general revelry in things sparkly and dancing and otherwise. She made some good points, as badly as I wish they weren't, and also said things I didn't agree with, which is what makes for good conversation, of which there was plenty over the yummy smothered chicken and fluffy waffles.
After breakfast, we decided to go on a scouting trip through the Hollywood Hills thanks to some, ahem, information we got last night. And while no, we didn't find it, we did make a pit stop at a particularly lovely bend with a view of all Los Angeles spread out below.
We headed over to stand in line at Sunset around noon. Apparently, not even vaguely early enough, as we'd foundangel_q and a few of her cohorts had camped out all night. We joined her, escapist_xbq, Donna from San Jose, Meghan (who later became my partner in squee during the show) and her friend Leslie, and a few other girls. We played a couple rounds of *NSYNC Uno (getting to put down all of one number and accumulating Draw cards are not Southern rules, thank you! Y'all have been spoiled, Uno's a cutthroat affair), collectively swooned over the DailyMail article (which they filled me in on since I hadn't yet read it) and romanticized Justin rescuing JC by asking him to come write and sing with him in Memphis. We talked fanfic and charactertization and a whole mess of other things and just had a time of it.
The girl at the House of Blues gift shop was quite taken with how normal we were for being so crazy. *g* As phoneposted, I heard the band soundcheck Plug It In while in the bathroom withsassygurl, but alas, t'was not to be.
There was some line drama, but it really wouldn't be a JC show without it.
Tony walked in the same way as the rest of the commoners, frisking and everything. They made him open up his guitar case! Tony obviously looked like he thought they were crazy to go through all that, and it was admittedly rather silly to watch.
Second row tonight, just off to the left from center since the security guy would be taking up his post when the show began. Delightfully, they played Fatboy Slim's Praise You at some point during our wait, only one of my most favorite songs ever of all time and space. The grooving started early tonight.
Tony rocked the house. He played Shotgun (meet me in Los Angeles, baby), Rollercoaster (which I love "a lot"), Maiden, Bad Guy, and of course we all held our breaths, but he did Catch Me solo, and ended with Hollywood Chain Gang, a perennial crowd-pleaser. And this could be our lucky day went over as spectacularly as ever. There's nothing like starting in on a hometown song with a hometown crowd.) While he was working the solo emo-boy look before, I have to say this rock star polish really suits him.
A.D.I.D.A.S. - He's settled for not twirling after the mic stand throw, which is sad, but he's 4-0 for catching it this way, so it's all good. Tonight also marked the return of that joyous bit of choreography, the microphone stand stroking. Oh, yes. Yes indeed. And while the new pink shirt is nice, I do miss the white leather jacket he'd doodled to within an inch of its life.
There was a guy who screamed, very loudly, "I love you!" before the music wound down. *giggle*
She Got Me - We've been singing the backing track for the wind-up to the chorus every night, which is just fun. Got my shoutout on a line I don't now remember, but we were both grinning singing it. This song is such a good time, from the concept to the handclapping to the... whatever those sounds we do on the bridge are. Campy fun, and that's probably a good portion of why I love this song - it's so him.
There was much screaming before JC got a word in edgewise. There's something amusing about the eminently rhetorical nature of asking a screaming audience how we're doing. "And then you came and made my day." The same guy yelled 'We love you' again, which I think I remember JC acknowledging with a grin. He said he thought the record was 'pretty cool,' the big dork, then declared we "have" to listen to the next song. Uh, sure JC, why don't you put us out a bit more?
If You Were My Girl - It's been said by everyone and their mothers, but he really gets into this song, but especially tonight - I don't think his hand strayed from his crotch for more than a single moment. There's a lot of stretching, too, which translates into lots of glimpses of slivers of his belly, and there's just no bad there. At one repetition of I would love you all night strong / if you were my girl, he stayed on the right side of the stage and first stroked down his thigh then full-on grabbed himself and ground his hips into it a couple of times for good measure, which I feel like a broken record for mentioning, but you need to be in the presence of it to understand.
FYI, it's been indisputably settled - JC dresses to the right, and it's not shadows or angles, he's just plain old hard, which, ascoolwhipdiva logically pointed out, makes sense given how generously he grabs himself.
One Night Stand - We're so cute doing the ooh, I feel love, I feel love, I feel loves and saying yeah, I know with him, though I miss the "girl, hell yeah I know" of New York a bit. The drums and production on this song are just fun. It's a party, a big, silly costume party.
He said a delighted, "I love my hos!" after his pimping lament a la Leon Phelps, to which I barely kept from screaming "We love you, too." You know, for a bunch of grown, sophisticated, outspoken women, we sure took well to his hos/bitches endearments.
Build My World - I could keep talking about how beautiful this song is, how amazing it is to watch JC lose himself completely in it, the passion with which he gestures, the air drumming on the crescendo then the leap up that lands him facing us again, the lovely lines of him as he reaches skyward on the bridge, the desperation in his voice at the end - a thousand reasons. Monday was the only night he had us sing any part of this song, but that's okay, since he gets into it all by himself so magnificently.
Blowin' Me Up - The bridge of this song remains the best thing to happen to a roomful of already hyped people. We clap, we sing along, we dance, JC can't shake the grin off his face about it. When he collapsed onto the stage tonight, his chest was heaving, and he was wiping sweat from his eyes before taking his sweet time setting up for the skit by writhing around and moaning before climbing to his feet.
"I don't feel so good, dude." To Molly! Bwah! And at least six people screamed for the blue pill before she even got to the choices. "Okay, Molly, you're the doctor," which might only be amusing to me, but this whole skit is just a big ball of cheese. However, we get finger-sucking and more self-lovin', so whatever gets us there is fine by me.
Come To Me -stamplet called this song "hypnotic," and I would have to agree. This song is pure sex. It just knocks me on my ass every single time. Touches his very soul, people. God bless the boy if he enjoys masturbation half as much alone as he does simulating it in front of a crowd of people. And there's a happy thought - which does he like more, being put on a show for, or putting on a show?
...
Weh? In the middle of a review, you say? Sorry, got waylaid a little back there. Lance has said before that this was his favorite song to see performed, but he proved it tonight, getting up and shaking it through the whole thing, essentially, as all eyewitnesses concur, having The Sex with JC between a few hundred fans, a balcony railing, and a couple of girls on either end of things.
Let's Go Crazy - I will never, ever get tired of hearing this song. You don't know how hard I had my hand clamped over my mouth to keep from making loud, undignified squeals of joy back in Anaheim whengeminigirl38 and I overheard him soundchecking it. He just has such an outrageous time of it up there, it's hopelessly contagious. You can't not jump and pump your fist and moan and scream "Oh no, let's go!" right along with him.
We got a snippet of Pink with I'm a hazard to myself / don't let me get me and then an improvised trip over my sneakers one more time / and fall flat on my ass to complete the verse when he had to retie his shoelaces. *loves* "This is fun!" He really got into the crazy schtick this time. He was just nutty (pardon the unintended pun) after the song and carried the madness right on over and just had fun with it. "I'm feelin' a little crazy." *bang!* "How you all feelin', you all feelin' a little crazy?" *bang* "You feelin' crazy?" *bang!* "I said are you feeling crazy?" *bang!* "'Cause I'm feeling crazy crazy!" *bangbang!* "I'm feelin' crazy crazy crazy!" *bangbangbang!* *pause* "You wanna see me do something really messed up?" We cheered appropriately, and he picked up the mic stand, walked to the front of the stage, turned so his back was to us, and said, "I feel crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!"
And only got one drum riff. "That was cold, man." He said something else to the drummer before walking to center stage and asking, "How many times did I say 'crazy'?" There was a bit of a discrepancy in the count so he asked again but still didn't get a satisfactory concensus. Then he walked to the left side of the stage and asked again there, but the matter still wasn't sufficiently settled. So he made to walk back toward center but stopped in front of us, made eye contact with me and asked again, leaning down and reaching out his microphone to me. *swoonswoonswoon!* I declared "Fifteen!" for all I was worth, at which he grinned in satisfied agreement, got back up, turned to the band and demanded his fifteen riffs.
And got them, smiling like a loon the entire time.
sassygurl was so cute - "Apparently, JC had a crush on you." Bwah! And Meghan, who had been squeezing my shoulder through the whole thing, and I deafened each other in equal parts with the squeeing. Afterward, coolwhipdiva was sweet, too - "Well, if I ever had a doubt that JC adores brunettes, now I know." Thanks for feeding the delusion, ladies. *hugs you all*
Dear Goodbye - Hearing the ambitious part of the room echo him on the scale is really cool. Such a beautiful song, and still as ever makes me think of Duran Duran's Ordinary World - what we had was good, but we're better apart and while, no, that's not okay now, it's hopeful that it will be someday. He had us sing almost every but the days go by / and things get better.
There's a pause in the song, where everything is just suspended for a long moment before he sings that same verse a capella before the music kicks back in, but tonight, he spoke. "Somebody get me some tissues. *pause* Y'all probably didn't even get that joke." Uh, I still don't. Anyone?
When he finished, he said "You guys gave me chills, thank you," before the song wrapped, which was so fucking cool, his knowing that we get it.
The Game Is Over - This was hot tonight. The entire pit was screaming and had their arms up, JC was jumping so hard I hope he'll still be thankful to have feet tomorrow. Watching him bend himself nearly in half while holding that last note, the sweat on his temples shining, the veins in his neck straining against his skin, his eyes scrunched tight, just belting the thing, and doing it all about four feet from you? Humminah.
"Hi!" Goober! "It's good to be back on the road again, man. Sayin' hi to everybody, shakin' their hands. Last night--" *pause for screaming* "I did this cool thing at the end of the show where I--" *pause for more screaming* "And uh, right before the show, I do a meet & greet, where I meet some people, talk to some people, take some pictures. And, well, I would say 99% of you guys asked me to play this song tonight." *pause for yet more screaming* "And um, well let's just say, *laugh* that I'm thinking about it." He said it so coyly! *surprisingly, more screaming* "You know what? I could do this all damn day." *you know what goes here* "We could do everything, we could play Something Special..." *cue gasp and squeal from Jules* He didn't but JC, honey, light of my life, love of my heart, don't tease with that song and not deliver. That's just wrong. "Regardless, we shall see. For now, let's get on with the show."
Everything You Want - As autobiographical as this song probably is, at least half the beauty of it comes from watching him perform it. That it's so damn danceable doesn't hurt, especially when there's room to do something about it. *hugs all her pit mates and thanks the rest for being cordial*
Shake It - I love the haphazard choreography. The song almost sounds like a bastard child of Plug It In, especially in theme. Had a little more of ye olde eye contact on girl, the spark of your touch / I wanna taste you so much, which was... nice. Yes. In other non-news, his falsetto really is insane. And that he just breaks it out willy-nilly, especially at the end of the show. I'm just so impressed with this boy's vocals, truly.
Right Here (By Your Side) - He draws his fingers across his mouth during lick it off your lips, my baby, all leaning forward and pleased smile and it's this odd combination of sexy and sweet that just melts you.
"We're gonna do something funky for you in a little bit." Eee!
Some Girls - There's a sound of a radio tuner being adjusted on her and her girlfriends by the speaker, and I might find their miming turning the knob as choreography endearing to no end. Also, he's said 'bitches' every night, and we haven't gotten complacent in showing our appreciation.
"You guys crazy, man." He said it so incredulously. "Am I gonna have to do it?" We thought yes. "'Cause I'm gonna tell you right now, I wanna do it." Tease, tease, tease! But the band made the decision for him, launching into the intro music.
100 Ways - If anything, we went more crazy tonight. JC prowls the stage, slinking around like a large and particularly self-satisfied you-know-what - when he's not jumping around like a crackmonkey. Since we were already screaming along, he had us sing the first I'll make love to ya / in 100 ways and she's such a sexy dame / I just can't control my thang. He really enjoys the sugarcane line, too. But mostly, I just have one line for you: I wanna slide right up in ya. Yeah, that's definitely not what he says on the record, but isn't it so much better this way? Also, he really makes love to the word 'downtown' as he sings it.
And so ends the second leg of our California adventure.
I thought this captured it well, fromhederahelix: "...after the Dec. HOB Sunset show, I said I felt like I got to watch a solo performer being born out of someone who had previously been a star in a group. This time I felt like I got to see someone who really does live for music get to perform his dream show for an ideal audience, and I always feel slightly awed to have been present when shit like that happens." Definitely. We were a hardcore fan crowd tonight, and he did what we loved and we loved it by default. Good times.
For those keeping track at home, tonight's guest list included Christopher Kirkpatrick and Riprock (who allegedly insisted on getting paid after JC did the bridge to The Game Is Over. Hee!) Also in attendance were Joey McIntyre and Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB and Paris' less notorious half, Nicole Ritchie.
Of coursegiddyupnow and geminigirl38 and sassygurl spent a good portion of our cross-town meal at Jerry's good-naturedly razzing me, some crazy nonsense about beacons of light or somesuch. We hadn't yet had our food, and it's probably better if I don't try to remember how long we'd all respectively gone without a square meal by that point. Then we took a successful side trip by JC's house - it's nice, very post-modern and, somewhat disappointingly, not at all pink.
Speaking of music, there's a song called, ostensibly, You Promised Me. I'd never heard it before coming to California, haven't since heard it since, but for those five days, it came on the radio every.single.time we turned it on in Schiz's car. Which wasn't that often, given that we listened to CDs on the entire Vegas drive, made it through Tony's CD twice, and mostly listened through the pop stash of Schiz's car. But if we turned on the radio, to any given station, we were guaranteed to hear the song, because I didn't like it but would need it by the end of the trip and, infuriatingly, I wouldn't be able to hear or get it once back home.
Mmmchickenandwaffles. Which is to say, Schiz took me for breakfast to Roscoe's, where we met up with
embitca and had a time of it discussing politics, fandom highs and lows, what keeps us here despite the madness, and general revelry in things sparkly and dancing and otherwise. She made some good points, as badly as I wish they weren't, and also said things I didn't agree with, which is what makes for good conversation, of which there was plenty over the yummy smothered chicken and fluffy waffles.After breakfast, we decided to go on a scouting trip through the Hollywood Hills thanks to some, ahem, information we got last night. And while no, we didn't find it, we did make a pit stop at a particularly lovely bend with a view of all Los Angeles spread out below.
We headed over to stand in line at Sunset around noon. Apparently, not even vaguely early enough, as we'd found
angel_q and a few of her cohorts had camped out all night. We joined her, escapist_xbq, Donna from San Jose, Meghan (who later became my partner in squee during the show) and her friend Leslie, and a few other girls. We played a couple rounds of *NSYNC Uno (getting to put down all of one number and accumulating Draw cards are not Southern rules, thank you! Y'all have been spoiled, Uno's a cutthroat affair), collectively swooned over the DailyMail article (which they filled me in on since I hadn't yet read it) and romanticized Justin rescuing JC by asking him to come write and sing with him in Memphis. We talked fanfic and charactertization and a whole mess of other things and just had a time of it.The girl at the House of Blues gift shop was quite taken with how normal we were for being so crazy. *g* As phoneposted, I heard the band soundcheck Plug It In while in the bathroom with
sassygurl, but alas, t'was not to be.There was some line drama, but it really wouldn't be a JC show without it.
Tony walked in the same way as the rest of the commoners, frisking and everything. They made him open up his guitar case! Tony obviously looked like he thought they were crazy to go through all that, and it was admittedly rather silly to watch.
Second row tonight, just off to the left from center since the security guy would be taking up his post when the show began. Delightfully, they played Fatboy Slim's Praise You at some point during our wait, only one of my most favorite songs ever of all time and space. The grooving started early tonight.
Tony rocked the house. He played Shotgun (meet me in Los Angeles, baby), Rollercoaster (which I love "a lot"), Maiden, Bad Guy, and of course we all held our breaths, but he did Catch Me solo, and ended with Hollywood Chain Gang, a perennial crowd-pleaser. And this could be our lucky day went over as spectacularly as ever. There's nothing like starting in on a hometown song with a hometown crowd.) While he was working the solo emo-boy look before, I have to say this rock star polish really suits him.
A.D.I.D.A.S. - He's settled for not twirling after the mic stand throw, which is sad, but he's 4-0 for catching it this way, so it's all good. Tonight also marked the return of that joyous bit of choreography, the microphone stand stroking. Oh, yes. Yes indeed. And while the new pink shirt is nice, I do miss the white leather jacket he'd doodled to within an inch of its life.
There was a guy who screamed, very loudly, "I love you!" before the music wound down. *giggle*
She Got Me - We've been singing the backing track for the wind-up to the chorus every night, which is just fun. Got my shoutout on a line I don't now remember, but we were both grinning singing it. This song is such a good time, from the concept to the handclapping to the... whatever those sounds we do on the bridge are. Campy fun, and that's probably a good portion of why I love this song - it's so him.
There was much screaming before JC got a word in edgewise. There's something amusing about the eminently rhetorical nature of asking a screaming audience how we're doing. "And then you came and made my day." The same guy yelled 'We love you' again, which I think I remember JC acknowledging with a grin. He said he thought the record was 'pretty cool,' the big dork, then declared we "have" to listen to the next song. Uh, sure JC, why don't you put us out a bit more?
If You Were My Girl - It's been said by everyone and their mothers, but he really gets into this song, but especially tonight - I don't think his hand strayed from his crotch for more than a single moment. There's a lot of stretching, too, which translates into lots of glimpses of slivers of his belly, and there's just no bad there. At one repetition of I would love you all night strong / if you were my girl, he stayed on the right side of the stage and first stroked down his thigh then full-on grabbed himself and ground his hips into it a couple of times for good measure, which I feel like a broken record for mentioning, but you need to be in the presence of it to understand.
FYI, it's been indisputably settled - JC dresses to the right, and it's not shadows or angles, he's just plain old hard, which, as
coolwhipdiva logically pointed out, makes sense given how generously he grabs himself.One Night Stand - We're so cute doing the ooh, I feel love, I feel love, I feel loves and saying yeah, I know with him, though I miss the "girl, hell yeah I know" of New York a bit. The drums and production on this song are just fun. It's a party, a big, silly costume party.
He said a delighted, "I love my hos!" after his pimping lament a la Leon Phelps, to which I barely kept from screaming "We love you, too." You know, for a bunch of grown, sophisticated, outspoken women, we sure took well to his hos/bitches endearments.
Build My World - I could keep talking about how beautiful this song is, how amazing it is to watch JC lose himself completely in it, the passion with which he gestures, the air drumming on the crescendo then the leap up that lands him facing us again, the lovely lines of him as he reaches skyward on the bridge, the desperation in his voice at the end - a thousand reasons. Monday was the only night he had us sing any part of this song, but that's okay, since he gets into it all by himself so magnificently.
Blowin' Me Up - The bridge of this song remains the best thing to happen to a roomful of already hyped people. We clap, we sing along, we dance, JC can't shake the grin off his face about it. When he collapsed onto the stage tonight, his chest was heaving, and he was wiping sweat from his eyes before taking his sweet time setting up for the skit by writhing around and moaning before climbing to his feet.
"I don't feel so good, dude." To Molly! Bwah! And at least six people screamed for the blue pill before she even got to the choices. "Okay, Molly, you're the doctor," which might only be amusing to me, but this whole skit is just a big ball of cheese. However, we get finger-sucking and more self-lovin', so whatever gets us there is fine by me.
Come To Me -
stamplet called this song "hypnotic," and I would have to agree. This song is pure sex. It just knocks me on my ass every single time. Touches his very soul, people. God bless the boy if he enjoys masturbation half as much alone as he does simulating it in front of a crowd of people. And there's a happy thought - which does he like more, being put on a show for, or putting on a show?...
Weh? In the middle of a review, you say? Sorry, got waylaid a little back there. Lance has said before that this was his favorite song to see performed, but he proved it tonight, getting up and shaking it through the whole thing, essentially, as all eyewitnesses concur, having The Sex with JC between a few hundred fans, a balcony railing, and a couple of girls on either end of things.
Let's Go Crazy - I will never, ever get tired of hearing this song. You don't know how hard I had my hand clamped over my mouth to keep from making loud, undignified squeals of joy back in Anaheim when
geminigirl38 and I overheard him soundchecking it. He just has such an outrageous time of it up there, it's hopelessly contagious. You can't not jump and pump your fist and moan and scream "Oh no, let's go!" right along with him.We got a snippet of Pink with I'm a hazard to myself / don't let me get me and then an improvised trip over my sneakers one more time / and fall flat on my ass to complete the verse when he had to retie his shoelaces. *loves* "This is fun!" He really got into the crazy schtick this time. He was just nutty (pardon the unintended pun) after the song and carried the madness right on over and just had fun with it. "I'm feelin' a little crazy." *bang!* "How you all feelin', you all feelin' a little crazy?" *bang* "You feelin' crazy?" *bang!* "I said are you feeling crazy?" *bang!* "'Cause I'm feeling crazy crazy!" *bangbang!* "I'm feelin' crazy crazy crazy!" *bangbangbang!* *pause* "You wanna see me do something really messed up?" We cheered appropriately, and he picked up the mic stand, walked to the front of the stage, turned so his back was to us, and said, "I feel crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!"
And only got one drum riff. "That was cold, man." He said something else to the drummer before walking to center stage and asking, "How many times did I say 'crazy'?" There was a bit of a discrepancy in the count so he asked again but still didn't get a satisfactory concensus. Then he walked to the left side of the stage and asked again there, but the matter still wasn't sufficiently settled. So he made to walk back toward center but stopped in front of us, made eye contact with me and asked again, leaning down and reaching out his microphone to me. *swoonswoonswoon!* I declared "Fifteen!" for all I was worth, at which he grinned in satisfied agreement, got back up, turned to the band and demanded his fifteen riffs.
And got them, smiling like a loon the entire time.
sassygurl was so cute - "Apparently, JC had a crush on you." Bwah! And Meghan, who had been squeezing my shoulder through the whole thing, and I deafened each other in equal parts with the squeeing. Afterward, coolwhipdiva was sweet, too - "Well, if I ever had a doubt that JC adores brunettes, now I know." Thanks for feeding the delusion, ladies. *hugs you all*Dear Goodbye - Hearing the ambitious part of the room echo him on the scale is really cool. Such a beautiful song, and still as ever makes me think of Duran Duran's Ordinary World - what we had was good, but we're better apart and while, no, that's not okay now, it's hopeful that it will be someday. He had us sing almost every but the days go by / and things get better.
There's a pause in the song, where everything is just suspended for a long moment before he sings that same verse a capella before the music kicks back in, but tonight, he spoke. "Somebody get me some tissues. *pause* Y'all probably didn't even get that joke." Uh, I still don't. Anyone?
When he finished, he said "You guys gave me chills, thank you," before the song wrapped, which was so fucking cool, his knowing that we get it.
The Game Is Over - This was hot tonight. The entire pit was screaming and had their arms up, JC was jumping so hard I hope he'll still be thankful to have feet tomorrow. Watching him bend himself nearly in half while holding that last note, the sweat on his temples shining, the veins in his neck straining against his skin, his eyes scrunched tight, just belting the thing, and doing it all about four feet from you? Humminah.
"Hi!" Goober! "It's good to be back on the road again, man. Sayin' hi to everybody, shakin' their hands. Last night--" *pause for screaming* "I did this cool thing at the end of the show where I--" *pause for more screaming* "And uh, right before the show, I do a meet & greet, where I meet some people, talk to some people, take some pictures. And, well, I would say 99% of you guys asked me to play this song tonight." *pause for yet more screaming* "And um, well let's just say, *laugh* that I'm thinking about it." He said it so coyly! *surprisingly, more screaming* "You know what? I could do this all damn day." *you know what goes here* "We could do everything, we could play Something Special..." *cue gasp and squeal from Jules* He didn't but JC, honey, light of my life, love of my heart, don't tease with that song and not deliver. That's just wrong. "Regardless, we shall see. For now, let's get on with the show."
Everything You Want - As autobiographical as this song probably is, at least half the beauty of it comes from watching him perform it. That it's so damn danceable doesn't hurt, especially when there's room to do something about it. *hugs all her pit mates and thanks the rest for being cordial*
Shake It - I love the haphazard choreography. The song almost sounds like a bastard child of Plug It In, especially in theme. Had a little more of ye olde eye contact on girl, the spark of your touch / I wanna taste you so much, which was... nice. Yes. In other non-news, his falsetto really is insane. And that he just breaks it out willy-nilly, especially at the end of the show. I'm just so impressed with this boy's vocals, truly.
Right Here (By Your Side) - He draws his fingers across his mouth during lick it off your lips, my baby, all leaning forward and pleased smile and it's this odd combination of sexy and sweet that just melts you.
"We're gonna do something funky for you in a little bit." Eee!
Some Girls - There's a sound of a radio tuner being adjusted on her and her girlfriends by the speaker, and I might find their miming turning the knob as choreography endearing to no end. Also, he's said 'bitches' every night, and we haven't gotten complacent in showing our appreciation.
"You guys crazy, man." He said it so incredulously. "Am I gonna have to do it?" We thought yes. "'Cause I'm gonna tell you right now, I wanna do it." Tease, tease, tease! But the band made the decision for him, launching into the intro music.
100 Ways - If anything, we went more crazy tonight. JC prowls the stage, slinking around like a large and particularly self-satisfied you-know-what - when he's not jumping around like a crackmonkey. Since we were already screaming along, he had us sing the first I'll make love to ya / in 100 ways and she's such a sexy dame / I just can't control my thang. He really enjoys the sugarcane line, too. But mostly, I just have one line for you: I wanna slide right up in ya. Yeah, that's definitely not what he says on the record, but isn't it so much better this way? Also, he really makes love to the word 'downtown' as he sings it.
And so ends the second leg of our California adventure.
I thought this captured it well, from
hederahelix: "...after the Dec. HOB Sunset show, I said I felt like I got to watch a solo performer being born out of someone who had previously been a star in a group. This time I felt like I got to see someone who really does live for music get to perform his dream show for an ideal audience, and I always feel slightly awed to have been present when shit like that happens." Definitely. We were a hardcore fan crowd tonight, and he did what we loved and we loved it by default. Good times.For those keeping track at home, tonight's guest list included Christopher Kirkpatrick and Riprock (who allegedly insisted on getting paid after JC did the bridge to The Game Is Over. Hee!) Also in attendance were Joey McIntyre and Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB and Paris' less notorious half, Nicole Ritchie.
Of course
giddyupnow and geminigirl38 and sassygurl spent a good portion of our cross-town meal at Jerry's good-naturedly razzing me, some crazy nonsense about beacons of light or somesuch. We hadn't yet had our food, and it's probably better if I don't try to remember how long we'd all respectively gone without a square meal by that point. Then we took a successful side trip by JC's house - it's nice, very post-modern and, somewhat disappointingly, not at all pink.
